The Tiger Woods-hosted tournament, the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, is moving from Sherwood Country Club to Florida starting next year.

The 18-player field – consisting of Woods and other golfers ranked in the top-50 in the world rankings - will move to Orlando’s Isleworth Golf & Country Club.

Isleworth is the home country club for Woods and many other PGA Tour pros, and Woods once had a home there. Woods now lives in Jupiter, Fla.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Tavistock Group and my friend, Joe Lewis, and I am thrilled to see it grow in support of our foundations,” Tiger Woods said in a release issued Friday morning. “We’ve enjoyed 15 amazing years in Southern California, which helped us launch our flagship Tiger Woods Learning Center. It serves as a lasting tribute to local fans that have supported us year after year.

“I’m looking forward to this next phase of the World Challenge and what it can bring to Florida.”

The event has been held in Thousand Oaks for 13 of its 14 seasons and will be played for the last time Dec. 5-8 at Sherwood. This is sure to be a blow for local golf fans who will no longer be able to see Woods play golf in the Los Angeles area. He hasn’t played at Riviera in seven years.

Greg McLaughlin, president and CEO of the Tiger Woods Foundation and the tournament’s director, mentioned economics as one of the reasons for the move.

“The change to the schedule was a factor and economics is always the case in terms of sponsorship,” McLaughlin said in a phone interview. “I think we have a great opportunity on the East Coast to help grow the event. There were a lot of factors. There’s never really one thing. It’s always a series of things.”

The event started in 1999, and Woods has won it five times.

One of the major problems for Woods’ event has been securing a title sponsorship, and last year, there was no title sponsor. Woods paid for much of the tournament – a reported $4 million. Northwestern Mutual signed on as title sponsor but the contract is just for next month’s tournament.

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Sherwood was a successful host for golfers with the course and fans for the experience. The third-round crowd of 16,981 last year set a record for the tournament’s Saturday attendance.

This year will be high on talent, as Woods, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell headline the field.

“There was certainly great sadness on both parties’ part,” McLaughlin said of leaving Sherwood. “To have a 14-year relationship that benefited both sides tremendously, and whenever something comes to an end it’s always difficult for everybody.

“The club has been amazing to us in every way, and we’re excited about the event in 2013 and everybody is focused on that and ensuring we have a great event given the field strength and support.”

McLaughlin said there “was nothing we would’ve wanted differently out of the course or the members.”

Woods grew up in Cypress and played his first professional tournament as a 16-year-old amateur in Los Angeles at Riviera. He has very few ties to California now, except for the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, the first learning center he started with his late father, Earl.

Much of the proceeds from the tournament in Thousand Oaks were given to the Tiger Woods Foundation, and Woods donates his winnings from the tournament to the foundation as well.

When the tournament moves to Florida it will also be played the first week of December, according to McLaughlin.